Contrary to what we were made to currently believe, North Koreans are healthier mentally despite being materially insufficient. Watch Crash Landing on You. That’s more realistic because North Korea albeit under the rule of their Supreme Leader’s family, is slowly evolving and not as secluded as they once were. The famine in the 1990’s truly happened yet surprisingly, some defectors’ reason for leaving their country isn’t because of hunger. They wanted to experience what it’s like to live in a first world country.
An Egyptian company provides mobile services to about 3 million subscribers as of 2016? I forgot when this book was actually published. They get to wear blue jeans although it isn’t as widely accepted due to its association to Western culture. They get to watch Hollywood movies with Titanic’s love scene omitted. They wear Lacoste and other western brands too. However, just like any other third world countries like ours, wealth isn’t evenly distributed.
Astonishingly, they don’t see South Korea as their enemy. They consider them brothers and sisters from the same roots, which is technically a fact.
Lastly, Kim Il Sung and his family were devout christians. He hailed from a family of ministers. He was greatly influenced by Stalin and banned religion.
I was deceived by a defector’s exaggerated storytelling on You Tube for many years. After all, she was making money sharing her stories while in the US. Who can contest her life story, right? However, we have to look at facts, as well as, correlate it with other testimonies. In this digital era, it’s easier to manipulate a story angle and grossly exaggerate facts. Case in point, when Mindanao was under martial law during President Duterte’s tenure, a number of people thought we were living in hell. We weren’t! It was the most peaceful time for Mindanao after a long time of being neglected! This is not a political post. I am merely stating a fact from my family’s experience. Threats of kidnapping, which terrorized the Filipino-Chinese community since I was born had ceased.
I am not downplaying the oppression and human rights violations that may have happened in North Korea. I am just saying that there is hope for them. We pray unceasingly.
My brother and I discussed this topic and book for hours and as he said, “Achie, always take it with a grain of salt.”
I would have appreciated this book more if they placed the year of defection next to the defectors’ names. Also the photos needed captions. I’d rate it 4/5.
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